Janice Tanaka

California-based Janice Tanaka is considered a pioneer in the use of processed images within experimental narrative form. She brings a painter’s sensibility to her intricately textured video collages that blend social and political observations, philosophical inquiries, and personal introspection. Her work uses original footage, appropriated media images, and densely layered electronic processing to transform the autobiographical into the universal. Her videos treat issues of Asian American history and identity, from the enduring trauma of internment camps during World War II to the blending of cultural values from the Old to New World.